Cleveland Indians 2016 Top Prospects: #22 Yu-Cheng Chang

Cleveland Indians 2016 Top Prospects: #22 Yu-Cheng Chang

Already the fourth shortstop on this list, Yu-Cheng Chang comes in at number 22 on our Cleveland Indians 2016 Top Prospect countdown.

Who is Yu-Cheng Chang?

Chang joined the Indians right out of high school when he was signed as an amateur free agent in 2013. One of the best amateur free agents in Asia that summer, the Tribe lured him away from his native Taiwan with a rather substantial $500,000 bonus. The 20-year-old right-handed stands 6’1” and weighs about 175 pounds.  He made his full-season debut in 2015 with the Class-A Lake County Captains. He’s played mostly shortstop though he also saw some time at third base in 2014.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Chang enjoyed a monster debut in 2014, hitting .346/.420/.566 in 42 games for the Indians Rookie-Level team in Arizona. Only 18 years old when he debuted, he showed off impressive power, hitting six home runs in just 181 plate appearances while posting a robust .220 ISO (isolated power). His .986 OPS (on-base plus slugging) was the second best in the league as well.  He also added in six stolen bases for good measure, proving to be an all-around threat offensively.

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However, he wasn’t able to follow up that debut in his first stint in full-season ball as he struggled in 2015, hitting just .232/.293/.361.  Most troubling was his strikeout rate rose from 15.5% in 2014 to 23.4% in 2015. Not a bad rate by any means, especially for a guy that was only 19 for most of the season, but definitely not the direction one wants to see that number go.  His walk rate also trended in the wrong direction in 2015, going from a very good 9.9% in 2014 to a 6.1% this past season. Again, not a bad number but something he needs to reverse if he wants to remain a top prospect.

Defensively Chang has been adequate at shortstop. He’s not the quickest guy and doesn’t have the greatest arm but so far hasn’t given any reason to move him off the position. That said, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he does move to third base at some point given the extreme depth the Tribe has at shortstop.  While Chang stole six bases in 2014 with only one caught stealing, he managed just five steals in 2015 while being caught six times. He’s athletic but speed is not a big part of his game.

Where Does He Go From Here?

Chang is likely to move up another step in the Indians organization ladder as he’ll likely open as the starting shortstop with the Advanced-A Lynchburg Hillcats.  He’ll need to turn things around in his second full-season as a professional as there are players in the lower levels that could be itching to make the jump to Lynchburg at some point this season, including Tyler Krieger who I talked about just the other day.

Next: Indians Top Prospects: #23 Greg Allen

There’s definitely still optimism that Chang can rebound as he was one of only six teenagers on the Lake County roster last year and was likely still adjusting to life in America versus Asia.  And while his numbers were disappointing given his 2014 debut, he still tied for third on the Captains in home runs with nine and extra base hits with 29.  Baseball America went as far as ranking Chang as their 16^th best Tribe prospect this season. While I’m not ready to go that high with him, I am very excited to see how his 2016 goes. He’s got a lot of upside and is one of the most exciting Asian prospects the Indians have had in a while.